Chapter 617: Worse Than Clay Chickens and Tile Dogs

On the other side, Niu Er lunged forward with his whole body. He had spotted the coordination between Chen Sheng and Li Wu behind him. The moment he threw himself out was exactly when Chen Sheng launched his attack, his body blocking Li Wu for that brief instant. As Li Wu stepped forward, he was perfectly checked by Niu Er's move, utterly unable to help.

Chen Sheng sidestepped, but instead of retreating, he bulled forward head-on. Niu San was now unable to pull away and had no way to exert force. Anyone else facing a thrust would have to dodge backward, but Chen Sheng only needed to meet it with the most heavily armored part of his chest plate. The blade couldn't pierce it anyway.

Niu San rolled backward with the momentum. Chen Sheng kicked forward viciously. The kick didn't land, but it threw Niu San's movement into chaos. Chen Sheng's wrist lifted and dropped; the long blade in his hand chopped down again. This time Niu San couldn't dodge. The first strike landed squarely on his shoulder. Though it didn't bite deep, flesh split open and blood gushed out. His whole body slowed with the blow. But Niu San had a vicious streak. Wounded, instead of fleeing, he roared and grabbed the blade edge with his hand, clinging to it with a death grip.

Beside them, Niu Er bellowed. His straight sword swung sideways, stabbing toward the gap in Chen Sheng's face guard. Behind him, Li Wu stepped forward but couldn't circle around. He only had time to skewer Niu San with his podao. By then, Niu Er was already upon Chen Sheng.

Before the man reached him, Chen Sheng had already released his weapon. He ducked his head and charged in close. The loud crack of the opponent's straight sword slashing against his back armor rang out. The next moment, Niu Er's movements stopped. His whole body convulsed and collapsed to the ground. Chen Sheng drew his short knife, stabbed it into Niu Er's lower abdomen, and twisted savagely. Niu Er's strength drained instantly.

The killing cries in the compound didn't last long. The Niu men, caught utterly off guard as enemies burst in, faced chaotic short blades with disciplined formations of long spears. They had virtually no power to resist. When Chen Sheng strode forward, cutting through them like melons and vegetables as if entering uninhabited land, the Niu gang's morale was beyond mention. The moment the two leaders, Niu Er and Niu San, died, they collapsed completely. Some dropped to their knees on the spot; others turned and fled.

Clam Port was a desolate wilderness. Where could they run? After last night's drunken, lustful revelry, their limbs were weak and unsteady. How could they outrun the refugee youths, well-rested and eager to prove themselves? Many couldn't even surrender. The moment they knelt, long spears skewered them into sieves.

As for the other parts of Clam Port, forget any rescue. Everyone cowered trembling inside their homes. The quicker ones had already bolted out the door, running as far away as possible. If these unknown god-killers dared to strike even the Niu family, how could anyone else be a match?

Corpse after corpse was dragged back. The Niu compound grew quieter and quieter. No one was left resisting. In truth, Niu Er and Niu San's group had collapsed the earliest. The moment Niu Er and Niu San fell, the household troops behind Chen Sheng swarmed forward, leaving not a single survivor.

"... We have no grudge, no grievance..." As Niu Er lay on the ground, he looked utterly unwilling to close his eyes, muttering that phrase over and over.

Chen Sheng simply raised his blade and brought it down, saying, "Retribution has come."

Of the Niu family's three hundred fifty-odd members, two hundred seventy-six were killed, seventy-one captured, and a few were unaccounted for. But with Niu Er and Niu San beheaded, the rest were of no consequence.

"Who is Zhong Bin?" After the fierce battle, Chen Sheng looked slightly weary. It wasn't physical exhaustion, but the draining relief after days of preparation and scheming, the tension finally released. But Chen Sheng showed none of it. He simply stood there, blade in hand. Seeing the awe-inspiring Second Master Chen, everyone's hearts settled.

Chen Sheng merely had the prisoners brought over and casually questioned them: who exactly was this Zhong Bin the Niu brothers kept invoking?

The so-called big shot with hundreds or thousands of ships and over ten thousand followers under his command—the Niu brothers had only spread wild rumors. But this Zhong Bin, Dragon Head Zhong, was a genuine power. From Fujian to Guangdong and across the Southern Seas, none dared defy him.

Though they constantly invoked Zhong Bin's name, it was likely Zhong Bin didn't even know the Niu brothers existed. They were merely a branch the Nius had painstakingly latched onto. Part of Zhong Bin's fleet ran the route from Zhejiang to Wa, doing a little no-capital business along the sea lanes. The Niu brothers had once rescued two ships that ran aground on a hidden reef, and that's how the connection began. Fencing and moving goods had deepened the relationship considerably, and they'd also managed to beg a flag from the Zhong family.

With that flag, the Niu brothers could claim to outsiders that they were Zhong Bin's subordinates. Don't underestimate that title. Men of the sea had to grant some face. Every private port along the coast would put on a smiling face at the name of Zhong Bin. On the waters off South Zhili, they could use it to swagger like a fox borrowing a tiger's might. And in Qingjiangpu, the wealthy merchants were worldly and knowledgeable; Zhong Bin's name carried weight there too. Everyone had to show some respect.

But however great that name and prestige, it was useless against the Zhao Character Camp. Zhao Jin wanted heads, so Chen Sheng simply led his men in to kill. Those who weren't meant to be spared, weren't spared.

The Niu compound had ample stores. After traveling south along the weedy flats and hiding for days near the coastal mudflats, they could finally replenish after all the hardship. Chen Sheng only assigned men to guard the carts loaded with goods and the livestock. The rest, he left to them.

Under the household troops' supervision, the men from the new refugee stockade searched room by room, then lit cooking fires on the spot. This time there was plenty of meat and fish. Nothing else, but dried fish and dried shrimp were abundant.

As for the residents near the Niu compound, they had long since fled clean away. Several hundred corpses lay there, blood flowing like a river. Though this group had no intention of involving others, a full tiger didn't mean it wouldn't kill. Better to hide far away.

The Zhao Character Camp had a strict order: no private looting of spoils, whether household troops, militia, or the refugee youths outside the formal ranks. However, the food, cloth, and tools seized this time would be given to the refugee youths to take back to their quarters. They were barely managing to avoid freezing or starving there now, but supplies were still desperately short.

The items pulled from each room were sorted and piled in the courtyard. There wasn't much, because the Niu family's true lair was in Miaowan Town, where they had proper residences. Though the haul was small, the refugee youths were still wildly excited. After all, it was their first victory, and their first spoils.

Chen Sheng hadn't removed his armor. He simply got a damp cloth and wiped the bloodstains clean, then sat on a cart watching the men below work. Li Wu stood beside Chen Sheng, shouting orders. From high up, he could see far; any sneaky moves were hard to hide from him.

"You were right. The household troops, their first time killing and seeing blood, they were vomiting. These ones are grinning like it's nothing. That's good." Chen Sheng looked out over the compound as he spoke.

The refugees had fled their homes and wandered to Xuzhou. Along the way, they had witnessed countless deaths and corpses. Many had also fought desperate battles beneath the walls of Xuzhou. The original batch at the new refugee stockade had even clashed with the Feng family's main force. After all that, though it was called their first battle, they were already rich in experience.

"Second Master, these men are about the same age as us, and many are older. They won't be of much use." Li Wu stood there, speaking casually.

Chen Sheng paused. He narrowed his eyes and looked up at Li Wu, asking flatly, "What do you mean?"

"Our Zhao Character Camp has nearly four thousand household troops now. Add in the usable militia and such, it's already enough to hold our current territory—actually, it's already more than enough. Why take on so many more? Master Jin and the other masters are young, and us underlings are young too. By the time our generation gets old, these refugees will be old too. They won't be able to step up... Put that hairpin back! Take him aside and give him five strokes!" Li Wu had been explaining distractedly when he spotted someone hiding spoils. He roared from atop the cart.

Chen Sheng gave a self-deprecating smile. Li Wu's casual words had made him overthink, imagining that Li Wu could guess Zhao Jin's intentions—intentions that Chen Sheng himself could only judge very vaguely.

At noon, Chief Constable Meng Chao of the Shanyang County yamen in Huai'an Prefecture arrived with several dozen runners. These runners had all been recruited in the last month or two. The old ones, Meng Chao couldn't command; they weren't on his side and would tip off outsiders. The new runners all had one thing in common: they spoke the Xuzhou dialect. Clam Port fell under Andong County's jurisdiction, but not a single person from the Andong County yamen showed up.

But Chief Constable Meng had brought enough men, because besides these runners, there were over two hundred righteous brave militia, all speaking the Xuzhou dialect as well.

Interrogations under torture began on the spot. When it came to the art of torture, the jianghu's methods truly couldn't compare to the yamen's expertise. The most skilled interrogators were a few men who had worked inside yamens before coming out. It took no great effort; the surviving Niu men spilled everything. Facing bloody slaughter without fear of death was one thing; enduring brutal torture was another entirely.

Confessions were extracted, thumbprints pressed. Physical evidence was even easier. Hardly any of the goods piled in the Niu compound had a clean provenance; their origins couldn't be explained at all. A full cartload was selected as material evidence. This made an ironclad case, with both witness testimony and physical proof complete. As for the heads of Niu Er, Niu San, and their trusted henchmen, they were taken along too. Once Niu Shengjie's case broke, who knew how many bloody crimes the Niu family would have to answer for.

In name, Chief Constable Meng Chao was handling the case. In reality, Zhao Jin personally led the cavalry to back them up. He wasn't worried that Chen Sheng couldn't take the Niu place, but after this extermination of the Niu family was finished, the Zhao Character Camp would have no more major operations in Qingjiangpu. For absolute certainty, he had to make every preparation.

"Dasheng, was it hard on you?" While Meng Chao busied himself over there, Zhao Jin went to ask Chen Sheng.

"It was all right. Just got bitten by bugs in a few places. Itches terribly. In this cold weather, where did the bugs come from?" Chen Sheng replied flatly.

Zhao Jin smiled and said, "The dampness is heavy along your route. Might be a rash breaking out. How were the men from the refugee stockade?"

At this, Chen Sheng's expression grew more serious. "The several hundred I brought this time can't be sent back. They've seen the outside now, and they know what their training can do. If they're cooped up again, they'll stir up trouble."

Thank you everyone. It's the end of the month. Give your monthly tickets to Old Bai, or they'll go to waste next month.